Freshening up the look of your sofa can be as easy as adding a few new throw pillows. Store bought pillows can be expensive, so why not take a stab at making your own? This easy envelope pillow cover tutorial is simple to follow and takes no time at all. Our finished pillow cover measures 50x50 cm (20 x 20 inches) but you can tweak the measurement to make any size you need. Let’s get started!
You will need:
- Fabric 55 x 120 cm (22 x 48 in)
- Thread in a matching color
- matching costum printed labels
Cut your fabric – you will need one piece measuring 55 x 120 cm (22 x 48 in).
Hem the short edges – fold each short edge 1cm (½ in.) towards the wrong side of the fabric and press.
"Freshening up the look of your sofa can be as easy as adding a few new throw pillows."
Then fold it again a little more than 1cm (½ in.) towards the wrong side of the fabric to neatly enclose the raw edge, and press once more. Stitch close to your fold to secure the hem.
If adding a label, baste it on 2cm (¾ in.) from one of the long edges with the right side of the label facing the right side of the fabric. It should be about 40cm (15.5in) from one of the short edges.
Mark the centre of both long sides of your fabric with a pin or clip by folding the short edges together and placing your marker at the fold (pink clip in the picture). Measure out 25cm (10in) towards the short edges from this marker in both directions on the top and bottom edge of the fabric. Place clips or pins here to mark these points too (purple in the picture).
With the right side facing you, fold the end of the fabric towards you to overlap in the centre. The distance between the two folds should be 50 cm (20 in) and the folded sections should be roughly the same width – the outer markers you placed in the previous step mark the corners of your pillow cover. Pin the fabric in place along both sides as pictured.
Sew straight along the top and bottom of the cover – your seam allowance should be roughly 2.5cm (1 in.) on each side, but you can also place your pillow form on top to mark its width first if it helps, or check that the distance between the seams is 50cm (20 in.).
Trim off excess fabric from the seams (you could also use a serger or an overlock stitch on your sewing machine to prevent the seams from fraying), especially at the corners, so that they end up nice and pointy.
Turn the pillow cover the right way out and insert your pillow form - enjoy!
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